Had to give DS the epi

[my3guys]

First off, he's fine. He asked me if it was ok to eat something a friend brought over. I stupidly said yes without checking enough. I've never ever done that since he was diagnosed. I still don't know why I did it.

Soon after he had a few bites, luckily the conversation turned to what was in it. Then I knew.  The dressing had egg as an ingredient. I told him to stop eating it (he hadn't eaten a lot). He seemed fine for a while, and then his stomach started hurting -- he calls it the egg stomach ache that he gets at challenges.  The last challenge ended in the epi for him. I decided there was no reason to wait for more symptoms, so gave him the epi with just the one.  I'm glad I did.  He never developed any other symptoms, but the stomach ache lingered for quite a while.  I imagine without the epi it would have definitely gotten worse.

The only good I can take from this is that this is the first time I've done something stupid like this in his 12 years of living with allergies. I won't again. We were both calm about the epi, I think given the experience in the allergist's office.  That's a good lesson for him. This is the first time I've given the epi to him, first time he got it in the leg. My friend felt horrible, I kept trying to tell her it was totally my fault.  He didn't have any other reaction, which is good.

It was such a fun night after a long, stressful week, and then it turned into such a stressful night.  He was so good about it with me...don't worry mom, everyone makes mistakes he said. Still feel terrible, but at least he's alright.

[hezzier]

Glad he's ok!  Please don't beat yourself up over this, we will in the future or have already made the same mistake.  How old is your son?

[momma2boys]

You did the right thing with the epi, don't beat yourself up over the mistake. We're all human. Glad he is ok.

[GoingNuts]

Oy, I can definitely see how it could happen.  You absolutely did the right thing, and I'm so glad it didn't progress.

[becca]

Glad he is okay!  I understand how it happened.  I have made a similar decision in the moment. 

[Mookie86]

Glad he is ok.  Nobody's perfect.  Don't be hard on yourself.

It's good you got to administer the epi.  Nothing like real-world experience!

[Janelle205]

Oh no!  Glad that he is ok, though.


How is the friend doing?  He's got to feel horrible.

[my3guys]

Thanks all. Today's a new day right? DS is a bit grouchy but otherwise fine. Hezzier DS is 12. Hopefully I've reassured my friend enough that she's not still feeling badly.

[Macabre]

So did y'all go to the ER or just stay at home?

You clearly did the right thing. If his stomach was hurting after Epi, I think he would have been worse without it. Good for you! 

Also--I know this is going to sound strange, but having the Epi as a tween or teen is a good thing. They realize they don't have to be afraid of it, and that can make all the difference as they have more independence. Not that I would cause a kid to need it--but this is one good thing that comes out if a serious reaction.

((Hugs)) to you!

[CMdeux]

You did good!!

And yeah-- I had the same question as Mac, but was also going to say the same thing-- that my one major regret about DD's reaction as a tween is that she didn't get EPI.  So she recalls anaphylaxis just fine-- which is good, because it reminds her to be careful... but she does not have that data point of "epinephrine is not that big a deal and it REALLY helps" which I think is just as important to know.

[my3guys]

Mac and CM...ok I'll fess up. We stayed home. NOT suggesting this was the right course of action, but it's what we did.  My thought was that if he had any other symptoms, I'd epi again and call 911.  Giving the epi is an improvement for us given 3 other egg reactions where there's just been a stomach ache, and we've given Benadryl only.  There was one other accidental ingestion and challenges in the doctor's office.  I gave the epi this time because 1) it wasn't baked egg and had no way to gauge how much he'd had and 2) last challenge in doctor office resulted in epi.

And I agree with what you said Mac about experiencing the epi as a tween.  If DS accidentally ingests egg again, I want him to think epi, not Benadryl and wait like we'd done in the past.

Now...why did we stay home?  I'm thinking because he exhibited the one symptom only, and it was complicated by the fact that we had friends over at the time. Not saying this was the right move, but it was what we chose.  Being open and honest here, and do want honest thoughts about our choice (I think) . 

[CMdeux]

I completely understand-- the reason why we've done wait-and-see in the past WITHOUT epi is that in our protocol, there is a hard-link between epi and hospital.

{sigh}  So that strategy obviously isn't a great one, either.

I think that the dangers of THAT one are really really obvious-- but the danger in giving epi and then not being in a hospital setting is that a relapse or a biphasic reaction can (and often, really, is) incredibly refractive to treatment with EPI.

So if you do see a recurrence, you'll want all of the resources of an ER to be brought to bear. 

[Macabre]

Confessuon--I might have done the same thing.

[hezzier]

Something that was recommended to me by one of our old swim coaches, was to let DS (or help him) give himself the epi so that he learns what it's like and that he can do it himself.  This is obviously dependent on the child's age and having more than one epi in case it doesn't go well.  With this being said, in a reaction situation will I remember...that's the real question.

[PurpleCat]

I missed this.  So glad your son is OK!